Vadodara, Jan 31: West Indies skipper Brian Lara today sought to deflect criticism of his decision to field first in the fourth and final cricket one-dayer against India which the visitors lost by a huge 160-run margin here.
"Nothing wrong with the decision to field first. But our bowlers did not pitch in the right areas and allowed India to get off to a flying start. Then there were batsmen like (Mahendra) Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar to finish the job," said Lara after the visitors lost the series 1-3 to the hosts.
"They got too many runs and we lost too many early wickets. India did very well on the field too and Yuvraj took a spectacular catch. We came here to win but were outplayed," said the West Indies great who played his last one-day international on Indian soil.
Lara said he would stick to his earlier decision to quit from the shorter form of the game after the World Cup at home.
But the West Indies skipper said his team needed to put the loss behind them and refocus their energies on the mega event in March-April.
"We need to put this behind us. It was good to play some international cricket. We competed well against a team which is hard to beat at home. We are now going to focus on the World Cup," he said.
Asked about his unfortunate dismissal, run out at non-striker's end when Irfan Pathan deflected a firm shot from Marlon Samuels on to the stumps, Lara said it was the first time he got out in this fashion. "It was the first time I have got out in this manner," said Lara who said that it was his wish to play at least one Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata before calling it quits.
"I have not played a Test match at the Eden Gardens. It's one thing left unfulfilled in my career and I hope I get an opportunity to come back to India and do it," he said. (Agencies)
